Books

Event-Cities 4, by Bernard Tschumi

For Bernard Tschumi, FAIA, whose career has demonstrated a long-standing rejection of the Modernist credo “form follows function,” the relationship between architecture and its usesor, in his terminology, “eventsis complex, even conflicting. But don’t think that “Concept-Form,” the subtitle of Event-Cities 4, the latest in the architect’s documentation of his philosophy as reflected in theoretical and realized projects, means that Tschumi has softened his stance. A concept-form “is not hierarchical and does not reflect a rigid set of rules,” he writes. “It is rather a specific moment … when an architectural strategy becomes the generator for making buildings. The concept-form requires intent.” • $35; MIT Press